John Radcliffe/Wexham Park/Stoke Mandeville?

[Wombat33]

Hi all, does anyone have any recommendations/experience of these hospitals? I'm very early on in my first pregancy but it looks like things could get a bit complicated and will require close monitoring and there's a risk of possible termination for abnormailites :o(

The midwife has suggested that I decide now which hospital I want to have my baby in, all being well, so that I can start my monitoring with an 8 wk scan and continue in the same hospital with the same staff. This sounds like a good idiea to me but which hospital. As a newbie to all this I'm looking for any info or advice. My choice seems to be between the three above.

Thanks!

MN turned my sad face into a grin. I must have pressed the wroong button. I'm not grinning about that obviously!

Only one I have experience of is Wexham Park because close friend gave birth there. She wasn't overly happy with the service, said staff were overstretched and she had concerns about the cleanliness. However, that was 3 or 4 years ago now so those things may have been improved. Also, parking at Wexham Park is a PITA and I have been clamped there in the past!

Worth knowing. Thanks lula.

I had dd3 at Stoke Mandeville and had a good experience with antenatal care. Was designated "high risk" due to previous history but had an absolutely normal pregnancy and delivery. Post-natal ward seemed very understaffed but it was early in the morning and I did the six hour discharge thing anyway.
Wexham is always very busy due to the area it serves (did my Obs residency there years ago).
In your position I would go for the JR because it's a specialist centre so they see many complicated pregnancies.

JR good specialist hospital but if you live quite a long way away already, you might want to take into account the fact that Oxford traffic can be pretty horrendous. You might not want to be in labour, and stuck in a massive traffic jam on the A40....

I'm planning on using the JR when the time comes - end of April/early May all being well. I live in Oxford and would echo the above comments - traffic can be a real nightmare. I can't speak for the other hospitals though. But yes, the JR is a good hospital.

I used the JR silver star dept for a very problematic pregnancy - parking is shit but the prebirth care is fab (not so good post care and the food is dire but there are very nice buns in the League of Fiends shop downstairs.

Very good prenatal diagnosis unit. If you need an ELCS ask for Victoria - she gives you a very good stitch up within the muscles so you get a flat tummy afterwards! The consultants are all really nice too. But it's very busy and the admin side is not always the best.

I've worked in all three as a paediatrician so can give you a point of view based on the baby care side of things. If the pregnancy is high risk with a chance of fetal problems then the John Radcliffe is the only tertiary centre of the three, with an on-site children's hospital and lots of specialists. There is a large fetal medicine unit and specialist care for complex antenatal problems. Wexham Park is very busy, and also has a large Special Care Baby Unit and takes babies from 24 weeks. Stoke Mandeville is smaller and takes more mature babies (27 weeks and up unless they have changed with the amalgamation with Wycombe). I have friends who have delivered in all three and had positive things to say about all of them. If it was me, I would choose the JR any day - yes, the traffic/parking etc can be bad but as a health professional it's where I would want to be in the event of a problem and is where I am booked to deliver, as it has a large delivery suite, excellent new midwife led unit, and fantastic adult, neonatal and paediatric intensive care units should the need arise.

I had DS at Wexham Park, I think my experience was more due to circumstance but it wasnt great - so understaffed it wasnt funny but then they did say there was a massive influx of women going into labour and the summer 08 was the busiest they had seen in a loooong time. I arrived at 13days (Sat night) over due for induction but was already 3cms dilated and there were no labour rooms to break my waters... wouldnt do it Sunday... or Monday... and by 4pm on the Tuesday my husband asked to see the head midwife to find out what the story was. I got induced that night and ended up with Pre Eclampsia, meconium in the waters (well no waters left just meconium) and failure to progress (supected was so stressed out from over three days in hospital waiting never ever given any updates or communicated with) so DS was delivered by c-section at 11am on 17th day overdue. The theatre staff and senior OBS staff were really nice, the labour midwives were okay, didnt really bond with any of them tho. Midwife that first night was HORRID. The day nurses were fine, they got me up and about quickly and was home two days later. Decent amount of food on offer, quality same old hospital yurk. C-Section scar is tiny and well done.

I don't know the other two but I would say the JR. Excellent maternity unit both for complicated and straightforward pregnancies. I've had all three of my DC there and I can't speak highly enough of the midwives and consultants. Hospitals are hospitals, and the food may not be brilliant, but you can always send DH out to Waitrose for gorgeous and healthy takeaway food (less than ten mins walk away)!

I had ds at Wexham 6 years ago. I had a dreadful pregnancy and spent a lot of time in the FAU both during the day and admitted.

Ds was born at 33 weeks and very poorly. He spent 25 days in NICU/SCBU and I can't fault the care he received both then and after being discharged. The part of the maternity ward I was in and NICU/SCBU and SCBU parent rooms were absolutely spotless. Ds had regular outpatient appointments and some emergency admissions for his first 5 years and again I can't fault that. Although ds has private health cover I have only used it once when it would have meant going to JR to see a particular consultant and I thought that was too far to go on a regular basis.

I stayed in the maternity ward for the first 12 days and we only had a problem one night with another lady leaving the ward bathroom in a dreadful state - didn't see it personally but was there to witness the senior mw having a go at the woman concerned.

Food was dreadful. Not even the catering staff knew what they were serving without looking up the menu. I weighed less 12 days after having ds than I had before I conceived. Parking not good either but fortunately I was given a parking permit for visitors to use.

I have had both of my ds' at Wexham, and I have chosen to have ds3 there too.

I don't know what other hospitals are like for maternity facilities. My choice was made through having 2 babies born prem who spent quite a few weeks in the SCBU at Wexham.
It looks like ds3 is going to be prem too, so I would rather go there where the condition that I have is recognised.